James W. Newman was born in Highland County, Ohio, on 12 March 1841, the son of William and Catherine Ott Newman. He moved with his family to Portsmouth when just a new born and was educated in local schools, graduating from Portsmouth High School in 1855. He then attended Ohio Wesleyan University, where he graduated in July 1861. At the age of twenty, with his bachelor's degree in hand, he began editing the Portsmouth Times. Newman was first elected to the Ohio legislature as a Democrat in 1867. He lost his re-election to Elijah Glover in 1869, in a contested election, which he lost by twenty-three votes. In 1870, Newman told his readers: “Scioto County is responsible for the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment upon the part of Ohio. The vote of the member from this county, in the House of Representatives, decided its fate. The change of one vote would have made the result a tie, and thereby defeated the ratification. Twenty-three votes in this county would have turned the scale." In 1871, Newman returned to public office when he was elected to the Ohio Senate. He was then re-elected in 1873, when he defeated Benjamin B. Gaylord (R). In 1882, Newman would win election as the Secretary of State of Ohio, serving until 1884. Back in 1870, when the supporters of the Fifteenth Amendment gathered at Allen Chapel, James W. Newman had little but ridicule for the supporters of equality and voting rights for African Americans.